Attached you will find the informal minutes of the ASANA business meeting held at the 1996 annual conference at the University of British Columbia.
The ASANA officers and board would like to thank our University of British Columbia hosts for their hospitality and excellent organization. We were also pleased that 30 ASANA members were in attendance. It was a particular pleasure to have 10 Canadians among the group and we hope that Canadian participation will continue at a high level.
You are reminded that the 1996 ASANA membership is now due. Individual membership is 25 dollars and institutional membership is 50 dollars. You may renew your membership online by emailing the following information to: jwells@cais.cais.com Include: name, address, telephone, e-mail contact, and an indication whether you are applying for individual or institutional membership. The Australian Education Office (AEO), which maintains the ASANA membership rolls, will forward you a bill for the appropriate amount after receiving your renewal information.
Following up on discussion at the Vancouver conference concerning marketing for membership, ASANA registration information is now included on the World Wide Web sites for the Australian Education Office, ASANA, and the Australian Virtual Library.
You will note the discussion in the minutes regarding the 1997 meeting. Questions to be resolved by the board include the venue for the meeting. Mexico City, Boston, and Washington DC were suggested. What are your views? Please get back to me at e-mail: jmk13@psu.edu with your vote for the 1997 venue as well as suggestions for a theme for the meeting.
Those who presented papers are asked to send a disk to the Australia-New Zealand Studies Center, 427 Boucke, Penn State University, University Park, PA 16802. Selected proceedings will be published online and in hard copy by Penn State's Australia-New Zealand Studies Center. The deadline for submission is May 1, 1996.
Thanks and cheers. John M. Keller, ASANA Secretary-Treasurer
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Prepared by: ASANA Secretary-Treasurer John M. Keller
At 3 PM, March 9, 1996, ASANA Vice-President John Higley called the meeting to order in the absence of President Robert Williams, who was unable to attend due to a family emergency.
Fiscal report: The Secretary-Treasurer reported that the ASANA account was in the black, with current holdings approximately 3,500 dollars held at the First Union Bank in Washington DC. Current debts include approximately 1,000 dollars for printing and mailing expenses.
The Australian Education Office: AEO director Robert Smith reported that the AEO is part of the Australian International Educational Foundation (AIEF) network. AEO membership now comprises 28 of the 39 Australian institutions of tertiary learning along with the Australian Vice Chancellors Committee and the Faculty of Medicine at the University of Sydney. The New York-based Australian American Studies Foundation is withdrawing from AEO governance.
The AEO's rationale for supporting Australian Studies in North America is twofold: (1) this is a legitimate field of study with intrinsic academic merit; and (2) there is self interest in enlarging the base of Australian studies in order to encourage more North Americans to consider study in Australia. AEO consultants include Frank Poyas, who maintains the AEO website, and Maurice Howe, who edits the newsletter.
There was discussion of the possibility of joining forces with the American Association of Australian Literary Studies (AAALS) to hold joint yearly meetings and to increase the clout of Australian studies within the American academy. It was pointed out that there appeared to be reluctance on the part of AAALS to engage in joint activities with ASANA.
A motion was made for the ASANA board to consider writing the new minister of DEET to apprise her of ASANA's existence and role in North America and to encourage him to enhance support for ASANA activities in North America. It was suggested that the ASANA president write the new minister in this regard. The possibility of a joint letter with AAALS was proposed.
Georgetown University Center for Australia and New Zealand Studies: At the request of the presiding officer, a report on the newly-founded Georgetown Center was presented. The Center falls under the University's School of Foreign Service, which contains a number of area studies centers already. Requests for support from prominent Australians Rupert Murdoch and James Wolfensohn have been made. The Center will have five-year funding for a Monash Chair in Australian studies and three-year funding for a Fulbright Commission-funded chair in New Zealand studies. The chairholders will be expected to teach one course per semester and to engage in extensive outreach activities. There is an Australia-New Zealand studies certificate, with the university envisaging some 17 possible courses appropriate for the certificate. A number of short courses are already being offered in Georgetown's extension and distance education curriculum. Approximately 80-85 Georgetown students/year study at the Australian universities of New South Wales, Melbourne, and Sydney. The University of Auckland has just been added to Georgetown's overseas studies scheme.
ASANA bylaws and election of new board members: The ASANA bylaws were changed to call for the election of a president and vice-president in odd-numbered years and secretary-treasurer and board members in even-numbered years. Accordingly, Hoyt Edge and Angelika Sauer were elected to replace Nan Albinski and Hal Bolitho on the board. The secretary-treasurer John M. Keller was elected to another two-year term. The Executive Director of the AEO was added to the Board as an ex officio member.
Thus the composition of the current ASANA board is as follows:
The 1997 ASANA Meeting: There was discussion of the venue for the 1997 meeting. Australian Ambassador to Mexico Richard Broinowski made the case for holding next year's meeting in Mexico City to extend ASANA activities to the whole of North America and to promote the study of Australia in Mexico. He made the point that there is much interest and good will toward Australia in Mexico and that the meeting has the potential to attract new members from Latin America. Boston University Professor Harry Gelber suggested Boston as a venue to take advantage of BU's activities in Australian studies and the central location of Boston. Georgetown University's Kathy Burns suggested that Washington DC might be an ideal location, is easily accessible, and attractive to people attending conferences. Australian Embassy Cultural Officer Penny Amberg said that she thought it would be a mistake, given the precarious nature of ASANA, to hold the meeting in Mexico. She said that it would be advisable to hold the 1997 meeting at a central location in the continental United States in order to consolidate existing membership and to attract new members. She said that she expects a downsized budget for her office and that she might find it problematical to support a Mexico City conference from her office budget.
It was agreed that the board would study these proposals, canvass the membership regarding its views and make the appropriate decision by the end of the spring semester.
Vice President Higley called the meeting to a close at 4:30 PM, Saturday, March 9, 1996.
John M. Keller
Assoc Director, Australia-New Zealand Studies Center
Penn State, tel: 814 863-1603; fax 814 865-3336